Various types of metering products are in common use. The most common type is used to dispense postage by printing directly on an envelope or onto a tape which is adhered to the envelope or package. Metering products are also used by package delivery services to signify expenditure of money for the package delivered. Most metering products can be thought of as including three basic components: a meter, a meter base and a scale. The meter typically includes a rotatable print head and the necessary electrical and mechanical components which set the print wheels carried by the print head, rotate the print head for each impression and account for the postage or other shipping charges. One conventional postage meter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,122 dated Apr. 14. 1987, entitled POSTAGE METER STEPPER MOTOR MODULE, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference.
The meter itself is mounted to the meter base. The meter base provides the driving force for rotating the print head in the meter as well as providing the necessary structure for delivering letters past the print head during each print cycle. The scale may be mounted to the meter base or be a separate component from the meter base. The scale may be connected directly to the meter, which eliminates separate entry of postage amounts into the meter, or not, which requires the postage amounts to be separately entered.